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Book Review: Quarter Share
I was recommended this book, as I have a reputation amongst friends and family for liking happy endings and hopeful plotlines. Quarter Share has that. But its optimistic outlook isn't enough to support…
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Book Review: Heir of Uncertain Magic
The second book in the Whimbrel House series picks up where Keeper of Enchanted Rooms left off. Merritt and Hulda's attraction to each other continues moving at a snail's pace towards a full-blown…
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Book Review: The American Weekly Covers of Edmund Dulac 1924-1951
To slightly warp what Indiana Jones once said about priceless artifacts, the gorgeous watercolor paintings created by Edmund Dulac for The American Weekly magazine belong in a museum. But the original paintings have…
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How to Make Beany Buttons
f you love green beans, you've probably had them every way possible. French cut, snapped, and whole. Pressure canned, sauteed, roasted and boiled. So the next time your garden gives you too much…
- Action and Adventure, Book Reviews, Coming of Age, Fantasy, Magical Realm, Middle Grade, Suspense and Thriller
Book Review: Vera Warden and the Two-Faced Demon
It’s always fun when I’m drawn into a book by its cover… and then find out that the story not only lives up to that cover, but exceeds my expectations. Author J. Rose’s Vera…
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Book Review: Little House Life Hacks
A few months back, I started noticing the hashtag #tradwife in various social medias. I became curious about what others considered to be a "traditional" wife and where this rediscovered ideal might intersect…
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Book Review: The Little Wartime Library
The Little Wartime Library gives readers a chance to understand the power of comfort-reading. It's a book that's difficult to set aside once you bond with the characters you'll meet within the pages.
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Book Review: Seven Tales From King Arthur’s Court
With endless books being added daily to bookstore shelves (physical and virtual), it's easy to go 'deer in the headlights' while trying to select your next read. You hope it will provide entertainment…
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Book Review: The Insignificance Paradigm
A small act of kindness starts events in the small town of Luitgarde rolling towards a conclusion that nobody (including, hopefully, the reader) saw coming.
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Book Review: Inside Bridgerton
Clearly I'm going to need to buy a coffee table to display this gem. Inside Bridgerton is as lavish as the Regency Era itself.
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Book Review: The Wizard’s Butler
"He thinks he's a wizard," they said. For five grand a month and a million dollar chaser, Roger Mulligan didn't care how crazy the old geezer was. All he had to do was…
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Book Review: Surely You Can’t Be Serious
Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! by David Zucker My rating: 5 of 5 stars A book about Airplane!? What is it? It’s pieces of paper with pictures and…
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Book Review: The Last Dragonslayer
My book club chose this as our June read, and wow, am I glad we did. Our discussion was very lively, as all of us agreed that Jasper Fforde has created a fantastic…
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Book Review: Tasting History
Tasting History: Explore the Past through 4,000 Years of Recipes by Max Miller My rating: 5 of 5 stars I spent months waiting for this cookbook to release… the anticipation well outshone the…
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Book Review: The Workshop: Week Two
The Workshop: Week Two by Matt Mills My rating: 4 of 5 stars If you haven’t read The Workshop: Week One, this review won’t make much sense. Why don’t you go read that,…
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Book Review: Somebody Feed Phil, The Book
If you enjoyed watch Phil Rosenthal's food/travel series, I'll Have What Phil's Having and Somebody Feed Phil, this combination cookbook and travelogue is a must-have memento of Phil's travels around the world.
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Book Review: Skyseeker’s Princess (Songs of Si’Empra, #1)
Set on Si’Empra, a beautiful but harsh Antarctic island in the Southern Sea, Skyseeker’s Princess introduces us to Ellen, a member of the island’s royal family. Ellen’s destiny was to become the next…
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Book Review: Nine Lives and Alibis
As if I'm not already a pushover for cozy mysteries, all you really need to do is include a cat as one of the characters, and I'm in.
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Iron Skillet No-Excuse Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
Delicious tender-center crunchy-outside biscuits for harried or lazy bakers! No need for all that tedious mucking about cutting the butter into the flour, either. There’s a hack for that. And you don’t need…
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It’s Chives’ 10th Adoptaversary!
Ten years ago today, Chives showed up in our backyard, and managed to somehow instantly ambush Ken's heart. We couldn't bear to leave him out in the rain, sitting in our chives plant.…
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Book Review: Kinship of a Dragon
Kinship of a Dragon by Charles D. Shell My rating: 5 of 5 stars Even though it’s been years since I read Charles D. Shell’s Dragon Called Blood, the first book in the…
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Writing Workshop: Blurbs the Word!
If that back cover description isn't compelling, your potential audience could be passing you by. Learn how to hook a casual browser and turn them into your next avid reader.
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Writing Workshop: Continuity: Solid Worlds, Believable Characters
Ever have a character change their hair color, accent, or even gender in mid-story? And it's not part of the plot? Oops. If your Loki-wannabe isn't a shapeshifter or a trickster, it's up…
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Book Review: The Witches of Bone Hill
If dark and stormy nights, eccentric Victorian mansions, atmospheric landscapes, chilling family crypts, strong magic, handsome yet brooding groundskeepers, and witchy family legacies appeal to you, this is your next read.
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Book Review: The Secret of the Old Clock
When I was eight, I discovered a secret at my Gramma's house. Behind her huge console television, there was a bookcase built into the living room wall. I had to squeeze my way…
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Book Review: The Workshop: Week One
It's clear that Matt Mills is a writer (yes I know, duh, he wrote this book). But he's a writer that's fought in the trenches and, so far, has lived to tell the…
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Book Review: Mary Berry’s Baking Bible: Revised and Updated
Mary Berry’s Baking Bible: Revised and Updated: With Over 250 New and Classic Recipes by Mary Berry My rating: 3 of 5 stars From the promo blurb: “Baking legend Mary Berry, longtime judge…
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Adventures in Copyediting – Booze and Bullets
As I copyedit/rewrite a 103K-word, modern-day vampire novel, I'm pausing often to consider word usage.
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Book Review: Miss Hazeltine’s Home for Shy and Fearful Cats
Miss Hazeltine is a gentle woman who seems like someone society might label 'awkward'. But the cats that are brought to her school to learn how to be outgoing and brave think she's…
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Book Review: Odds Against (Aces High, Jokers Wild Book 7)
I wouldn’t be conforming to acceptable standards if I wrote a review that recommended a different book. But in the spirit of the Wildcards, I am going to risk insubordination and do what…
